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"New Hope For A Century Old Dream"

Maggie Nawyn hasn’t even started high school but already the 15-year-old has started an orchestra, appeared in a music video alongside singer Alex Boyé, and heads an organization that aims to save a century-old building in Brigham City.

The Christensen Academy of Music and Dancing had sat unused for over two decades before Brigham City bought the building in the early 2000’s. They planned to restore it to its previous grandeur but the money for the project ran dry after the exterior work to the two-story building was complete. So when it was rumored the building would be torn down, Nawyn stepped in.

With the help of local musicians and Alex Boye, Nawyn hopes to raise the necessary $1-2 million to finish the restoration of the Christensen Academy and reopen it as a center for the arts and home to her symphony, The Silver Slippers Orchestra.

New Hope for a Century Old Dream, a benefit concert for the Christensen Academy, will be held Saturday, June 22 at 6 pm in Brigham City. For tickets and more information click here.

Watch Alex Boye’s music video, Catch Fire to the Rain, which features Nawyn and the Christensen Academyhere

Mackinzie Hamilton started her career in 2009 as a reporter for 610 AM KVNU and staff writer for Cache Valley Daily.com before joining UPR in 2011. A freshman at Utah State University, she is majoring in Journalism and communications with a minor in vocal performance.